Bowling ball having adjustable selflocking finger hole plug



G. MASON March 8, 1966 BOWLING BALL HAVING ADJUSTABLE SELF-LOCKING FINGER HOLE PLUG Filed April 19 1963 INVENTOR. flea/ye Mafia/7 BY M Y ATTORNE v5 United States Patent 3,239,223 BOWLING BALL HAVING ADJUSTABLE SELF- LQCKING FINGER HOLE PLUG George Mason, 8819 Belleview, Kansas City, Mo. Filed Apr. 19, 1963, Ser. No. 274,197 3 Claims. (@l. 273-63) This invention relates to novel bowling ball construction, and particularly to a ball having a normally locked, selectively rotatable plug therein containing at least one one of the finger-receiving holes normally provided in the ball, so that the disposition of the finger hole in the plug may be changed relative to another finger-receiving passage in the body of the ball. Thus, the bowler using the ball may adjust the disposition of one or more of the finger holes of the ball relative to another finger hole as necessary to compensate for the particular conditions under which the ball is being used and which change from time to time.

The conventional bowling ball has one thumb-receiving passage in the outer surface thereof, and one or more finger-receiving passages in predetermined spaced relationship from the thumb hole so that the ball may be gripped with the thumb and fingers of one hand. The direction which the ball travels down an alley after being released by the bowler is dependent upon the position of the bowlers fingers at the instant of release of the ball. A straight ball results from release with the thumb forwardly of the fingers, while a hook ball is rolled by positioning the thumb to the side of the fingers at the time the fingers are removed from the holes therefor in the outer surface of the ball. Under different alley conditions or other factors that affect the way in which the ball rolls down the alley, it is oftentimes desirable that the relative disposition of the finger holes with respect to the thumb hole, be altered so that the bowler can more accurately control the path of travel of the ball as the same rolls down the alley toward the bowling pins. Since the finger-receiving passages in the outer surface of the bowling ball are normally permanent, it is impossible for the bowler to adjust the disposition of his fingers in the holes of the bowling ball, and it is therefore, necessary that the bowler attempt to compensate for different bowling conditions by altering the way in which he throws the ball. It is, of course, well known that for consistently good scoring, it is desirable that the bowler perfect a proper arm swing and then maintain such swing at all times, but varying alley conditions necessitate alterations in the swing to cause the ball to roll into the proper pocket of the bowling pins during use of a particular ball.

The present invention provides an effective solution in many instances to the problems set forth above in that the bowler may readily adjust the disposition of the finger holes of the ball with respect to the thumb-receiving passage therein, so that the bowler may adequately compensate for different conditions encountered during use of a particular ball. Although bowling balls having adjustable finger holes have been previously provided, all of the same have suffered from major defects and disadvantages militating against any significant commercial usage thereof. In most instances, these balls have also completely failed to meet the strict requirements of the American Bowling Congress relating to modification of conventional balls.

It is, therefore, the primary object of the present invention to provide a bowling ball having novel structure permitting the finger holes in the ball to be adjusted as desired with respect to the thumb hole in the ball, and With the adjustable structure being simple to operate,

in no way affecting normal use of the ball or scoring with the same, and fully complying with all of the requirements and specifications of the American Bowling Congress.

It is another very important object of the invention to provide a bowling ball wherein at least one finger-receiving passage normally provided in the ball, is formed in a plug rotatably positioned in the outer portion of the ball, and with the plug including novel self-locking structure thereon so that the rotatable plug is normally locked against rotation, but may readily be released and shifted as desired, through employment of a simple actuating tool that the bowler may carry with him at all times.

A still further important object of the invention is to provide a bowling ball having an adjustable finger hole plug therein, wherein the plug is not removable by the bowler during normal use of the ball, but such plug can be removed from the ball by a bowling ball dealer or workshop, if it is necessary to replace the plug for any reason such as boring of new finger holes, or other repair operations. It should be noted in this respect that a further important aim of the invention is to provide a bowling ball wherein reboring of finger holes or plugging of finger passages can be obviated by the simple expedient of exchanging removable plugs which can be bored to the bowlers specifications or having prebored finger holes therein.

An especially important object of the invention is to provide bowling ball construction as described above wherein the adjustable finger hole plug is normally locked against rotation at all times during use of the ball, and requiring the insertion of a special tool in the locking structure to permit alteration of the disposition of the finger holes in the plug with respect to the thumb hole conventionally provided in the ball. It is also to be pointed out that a further object in this respect is to provide a bowling ball having an adjustable finger hole plug wherein the adjusting tool is inserted into the locking structure through one of the finger-receiving passages in the plug so that the locking structure does not in any way interfere with the appearance of the ball, or rolling of the same along the alley.

Still another important object of the invention is to provide a bowling ball having an adjustable finger hole plug received within a bore in the ball wherein the plug may be shifted to any one of an infinite number of positions with respect to the thumb hole in the body of the bowling ball, and with the plug remaining in such adjusted position at all times because of novel locking structure on the plug and receivable within and frictionally engageable with the inner surface of a recess formed in the bore of the bowling ball, whereby the plug absolutely cannot be rotated without movement of the structure out of engagement with the surface of the recess.

Also an important aim of the invention is to provide a bowling ball wherein the adjustable finger hole plug is constructed of material permitting ready variation of the density of the plug so that the balance of the ball may be adjusted to the users requirements without going outside of the strict specifications set down by the American Bowling Congress.

Also an important object of the invention is to provide a bowling ball having an adjustable finger hole plug wherein existing balls may be modified if desired to provide for adjustment of the finger holes with respect to the thumb hole of the ball, or the adjustable structure may be provided at the time of original manufacture of the ball.

Other important objects and details of construction of the present bowling ball unit will become obvious or be described in greater detail as the following specification progresses.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a bowling ball having an adjustable finger-receiving plug therein embodying the preferred concepts of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 3 and showing the relative positions of the plug and locking means as the plug is being inserted into the ball in a bore provided therefor;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, cross-sectional view of the ball and the plug therein, and illustrating the means for locking the plug against rotation relative to the ball and the tool for effecting the release of said locking means, the locking means being disposed to permit rotation of the plug relative to the ball;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but illustrating the disposition of the locking means when said plug is locked against rotation within the bore;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view on line 55 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 3.

A bowling ball embodying the preferred components of the present invention is broadly designated by the numeral 10 in the drawing and includes a spherical body 12 of conventional construction having a hard rubber outer covering, or constructed entirely of synthetic resin material, and provided with a thumb-receiving passage 14 in the outer portion thereof in generally radially extending relationship to the center of body 12. It is to be understood that passage 14 is normally not provided in body 12 at the time of manufacture thereof, but is drilled in the ball by the seller thereof to meet the specifications of the purchaser of the ball.

Body 12 is also provided with a relatively large, radially disposed, cylindrical bore 16 therein defined by an aperture in the outer surface thereof, by the inner cylindrical wall 18 of body 12 and by the inner circular bottom wall 20 adjacent to but spaced radially outwardly from the center of body 12. Bore 16 may either be drilled in body 12 subsequent to molding thereof, or may be formed in the bowling ball at the time of initial construction thereof. Ball 12 is further provided with an annular recess 21 in wall 18 thereof, recess 21 being disposed in close proximity to but spaced from wall 20, as is clear in FIG. 2. The radially outer peripheral margin of recess 21 presents an inwardly facing, annular shoulder 23 in surrounding relationship to bore 16.

Bore 16 of body 12 rotatably receives a generally cylindrical plug broadly designated 22 having an outer cylindrical surface 24 complementally engaging the wall 18 of body 12, and an outer semispherical face 26 flush with the outer surface of body 12 as indicated in FIGS. 2 and 3. Plug 22 may be provided with one or more finger-receiving holes therein, and for purposes of illustration, the plug shown in the drawing has a pair of finger-receiving passages 28 and 30 therein in generally radially extending relationship to body 12 and opening outwardly through face 26. At least one finger-receiving pilot passage is normally provided in plug 22 at the time of manufacture thereof, and it is to be understood that the passages 28 and 30 may be drilled to any desired size depending upon the ball purchasers finger size and his requirements.

Although the plug 22 is normally constructed of the same material as that area of body 12 having bore 16 therein, it is to be appreciated that the plug 22 may be made of various synthetic resin materials and then loaded with suflficient high or low density components to cause the plug to be of the same or a different weight than an equivalent volume of the outer portion of the bowling ball. For example, the plug 22 can be made of hard rubber having the same composition as the hard rubber cover or body 12, or the plug can be constructed of a synthetic resin such as epoxy and loaded with additional material, such as barium sulphate, to cause the plug 22 to have the same density as the major portion of ball 10. In this manner therefore, the balance of the ball can be readily adjusted to a particular bowlers requirements.

Plug 22 is provided with a transversely extending, cylindrical passage 32 adjacent to the normally innermost end of plug 22, cylindrical passage 32 being substantially centrally disposed in plug 22 as is clear in FIG. 6. Passage 32 is normally aligned with recess 21 in wall 18 when plug 22 is completely inserted within bore 16, as is clear in FIGS. 3 and 4.

Self-locking structure broadly denoted by the numeral 34 is carried by plug 22 within passage 32 thereof and cooperates with recess 21 to maintain plug 22 within bore 16, while at the same time permitting rotation of plug 22 relative to body 12 when structure 34 is shifted in one direction by means to be described.

Structure 34 includes a resilient, cylindrical element 36 within passage 32 and substantially engaging the innermost surface defining the innermost extremity of passage 32, as is clear in FIGS. 3 and 4. Element 36 is of a diameter slightly less than the inside diameter of passage 32 so as to permit element 36 to be compressed and to expand radially within passage 32.

An elongated insert member 38 of substantially rigid material is disposed within cylindrical passage 32 adjacent to and normally engaging the proximal end of element 36. Member 38 is of such length that the same extends outwardly from plug 22 and into recess 21. Element 36 is of a nature and in a disposition to bias member 38 into frictional engagement with the annular surface 40 on body 12 within bore 16 and defining recess 21. The frictional engagement of the end face of member 38 against surface 40 prevents any rotation of plug 22 within bore 16.

Member 38 is provided with a cylindrical cavity 42 therein intermediate the ends thereof which is alignable with a cylindrical bore 44 extending through plug 22 and intercommunicating passages 28 and 32. Cavity 42 and bore 44 are of substantially the same diameter and the length of member 38 and the depth of recess 21 are so chosen that cavity 42 is slightly out of complete alignment with bore 44 when the end face of member 38 frictionally engages surface 40, as is clear in FIG. 4.

When plug 22 is inserted within bore 16, member 38 may be shifted out of frictional engagement with surface 40 through the medium of actuating means broadly denoted by the numeral 48 removably and rotatably receivable within cylindrical bore 44 as is shown in FIG. 3. Means 48 includes an L-shaped tool 50 having a cylindrical stem 52 receivable in bore 44 and integral with a handle 54 at one end thereof. An eccentrically mounted projection 56 is rigid to stem 52 at the opposite end thereof to present a cam surface 58 engageable with the continuous surface of member 38 forming cavity 42 when projection 56 is disposed in cavity 42.

Surface 58 is continuous with the outer surface of stem 52 only at one tangential point as is clear in FIG. 5 so that rotation of stem 52 within bore 44 is sufficient to rotate projection 56 about the continuous surface defining cylindrical recess 42.

When stem 52 is inserted within bore 44, projection 56 is moved into cavity 42 with the portion of surface 58 tangential to the outer surface of stem 52 in a direction facing the outer end of member 38. Rotation of stem 52 degrees by handle 54 is sufiicient to move surface 58 into engagement with the surface of member 38 definlng cavity 42 so as to shift member 38 against element 36 and in a direction so as to move member 38 out of recess 21. Such movement of member 38 aligns cavity 42 directly with bore 44, but the movement is insufiicient to completely draw member 38 into passage 32. Thus, a small portion of member 38 continues to project outwardly from passage 32 so as to prevent axial movement of plug 22 out of bore 16. However, when member 38 is in the position shown in FIG. 3, the end face thereof is out of frictional engagement with surface 40 so that plug 22 may be rotated within bore 16 relative to body 12.

Plug 22 is provided with graduated indicia 60 on face 26 thereof alignable with an index mark 62 etched in the outer surface of body 12 adjacent bore 16 thereof. Indicia 60 cooperate with mark 62 to dispose plug 22 in any one of a number of selective positions.

In operation, element 36 is initially placed within passage 32 and then member 38 is placed thereinto against element 36 so that the outermost end of member 38- does not project outwardly from passage 32. Plug 22 is then inserted within bore 16 in the manner shown in FIG. 2 until passage 32 is aligned with recess 21. The restoring force of element 36, due to the compression thereof, forces member 38 into recess 21 and into frictional engagement with surface 40. Cavity 42 then assumes the position relative to bore 44 as is shown in FIG. 4, and plug 22 is precluded from rotating relative to body 12.

When it is desired to rotate plug 22 within bore 16, tool 50 is utilized and stem 52 is inserted within bore 44 until projection 56 enters cavity 42. It is clear that projection 56 will enter the cavity 42 only along a path which permits clearance between projection 56 and portion 46 which underlies bore 44 as shown in FIG. 4. Rotation of handle 54 in either direction to in turn rotate stem 52, causes cam surface 58 to engage the member 38 defining cavity 42 so as to shift member 38 toward element 36 and out of frictional engagement with surface 40. As mentioned above, the movement of member 38 toward element 36 by cam surface 58, is not sufiicient to move member 38 completely into passage 32. The outwardly extending portion of member 38 will engage shoulder 23 if an attempt is made to remove plug 22 from bore 16. To completely remove plug 22 from bore 16, special tools are required other than tool 50, which special tools are retained by an agency authorized to remove plug 22 from body 12.

After plug 22 has been rotated to the desired location as indicated by the relative positions of indicia 60 and mark 62, tool 50 is manipulated so that stem 52 is rotated in the opposite direction to permit the restoring force of element 36 to bias member 38 into frictional engagement with surface 40 once again. Plug 22 is, therefore, rendered immovable and tool 50 may then be removed from body 12.

In practice, the depth of recess 21 might Well be of the order of .025 inch and the distance through which member 38 moves under the influence of cam surface 58 might well be of the order of .010 inch. Thus, member 38- will continue to extend outwardly from plug 22 a distance of .015 inch when plug 22 is permitted to rotate so that shoulder 23 will effectively preclude removal of plug 22 from bore 16.

Tool 50 is incapable of shifting member 38 through a distance sufiicient to permit removal of plug 22 from bore 16 since stem 52 may not shift laterally relative to its own axis, but is permitted only to rotate about such axis.

It is also to be understood that a removal plug such as the plug 22, may be provided in ball for the thumbreceiving passage 14, either in conjunction with adjustable plug 22 or as a separate plug with the finger-receiving passages 28 and 30 drilled directly in the body 12 of ball 10. By providing two adjustable plugs, the bowler has an extremely wide range of choices as to the relative positions of the passages for his fingers under all conditions of use of the ball. Certain bowlers, however, may prefer only an adjustable thumb-receiving plug while others would find the plug 22 alone to better meet their requirements. In this respect, it is pointed out that when the term finger-receiving passages is used in the claims hereof, this terminology is meant to include all digits on a persons hands including those commonly referred to as fingers as well as the thumb.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A bowling ball comprising:

a spherical body provided with an aperture in the outer surface thereof and a radially disposed bore communicating with said aperture;

a plug rotatably positioned in said bore for movement about the axis of the bore and provided with an outer face generally fiush with said outer surface of the body, said plug being provided with at least one finger-receiving passage therein opening outwardly of the plug through said face thereof;

means on the body Within said bore defining an annular, inwardly facing shoulder generally coaxial with the bore and spaced from the innermost extremity of the bore, said plug being provided with a transverse passage therein in alignment with said shoulder defining means when said plug is disposed in said bore; and

locking means within the passage of said plug and engageable with the surface of the body at said shoulder defining means for normally maintaining the plug in a fixed position in the bore and for precluding rotation of the plug relative to the body, said locking means including a member movable in said passage and normally disposed to extend outwardly from said plug into engagement with said body, said member having means thereon forming the bottom surface of a cavity communicating and aligned with a fingerreceiving opening for permitting access thereto from a location exteriorly of the body to permit movement of the member out of engagement with the body, said member being disposed for engaging said shoulder to normally prevent the removal of said plug from said bore without precluding rotation of said plug relative to said body when said member is out of engagement with the body.

2. A bowling ball as set forth in claim 1 including an elongated resilient element within the passage of said plug engaging said member therein and normally biasing said member in a direction to cause the portion thereof remote from said element to frictionally engage the proximal surface of said spherical body within said bore.

3. A bowling ball as set forth in claim 2 including manually manipulate actuating means removably positionable in said cavity in the member and extending outwardly of said finger receiving passage in the plug, said actuating means being engageable with the member for shifting the latter to move the same out of engagement with said proximal bore surface of the body upon rotation of the actuating means to permit selective rotation of the plug in the bore.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,475,876 7/1949 Campi 273-63 2,539,918 1/1951 McLaren 273-63 X 3,120,957 2/1964 Yettito 273-63 DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner. 

1. A BOWLING BALL COMPRISING: A SPHERICAL BODY PROVIDED WITH AN APERTURE IN THE OUTER SURFACE THEREOF AND A RADIALLY DISPOSED BORE COMMUNICATING WITH SAID APERTURE; A PLUG ROTATABLY POSITIONED IN SAID BORE FOR MOVEMENT ABOUT THE AXIS OF THE BORE AND PROVIDED WITH AN OUTER FACE GENERALLY FLUSH WITH SAID OUTER SURFACE OF THE BODY, SAID PLUG BEING PROVIDED WITH AT LEAST ONE FINGER-RECEIVING PASSAGE THEREIN OPENING OUTWARDLY OF THE PLUG THROUGH SAID FACE THEREOF; MEANS ON THE BODY WITHIN SAID BORE DEFINING AN ANNULAR, INWARDLY FACING SHOULDER GENERALLY COAXIAL WITH THE BORE AND SPACED FROM THE INNERMOST EXTREMITY OF THE BORE, SAID PLUG BEING PROVIDED WITH A TRANSVERSE PASSAGE THEREIN IN ALIGNMENT WITH SAID SHOULDER DEFINING MEANS WHEN SAID PLUG IS DISPOSED IN SAID BORE; AND LOCKING MEANS WITHIN THE PASSAGE OF SAID PLUG AND ENGAGEABLE WITH THE SURFACE OF THE BODY AT SAID SHOULDER DEFINING MEANS FOR NORMALLY MAINTAINING THE PLUG IN A FIXED POSITION IN THE BORE AND FOR PRECLUDING ROTATION OF THE PLUG RELATIVE TO THE BODY, SAID LOCKING MEANS INCLUDING A MEMBER MOVABLE IN SAID PASSAGE AND NORMALLY DISPOSED TO EXTEND OUTWARDLY FROM SAID PLUG INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID BODY, SAID MEMBER HAVING MEANS THEREON FORMING THE BOTTOM SURFACE OF A CAVITY COMMUNICATING SAID ALIGNED WITH A FINGERRECEIVING OPENING FOR PERMITTING ACCESS THERETO FROM A LOCATION EXTERIORLY OF THE BODY TO PERMIT MOVEMENT OF THE MEMBER OUT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH THE BODY, SAID MEMBER BEING DISPOSED FOR ENGAGING SAID SHOULDER TO NORMALLY PREVENT THE REMOVAL OF SAID PLUG FROM SAID BORE WITHOUT PRECLUDING ROTATION OF SAID PLUG RELATIVE TO SAID BODY WHEN SAID MEMBER IS OUT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH THE BODY. 